A blood pump assembly, such as an intracardiac blood pump assembly, is introduced in the heart to deliver blood from the heart into an artery. Blood pump assemblies pull blood from the left ventricle of the heart and expel blood into the aorta. The blood pump assemblies may be introduced percutaneously during a cardiac procedure through the vascular system. Specifically, the pump assemblies can be inserted via a catheterization procedure through the femoral artery, into the ascending aorta, across the valve and into the left ventricle. The pumping of blood via a blood pump assembly can damage the blood or cause hemolysis as the blood is drawn through the blood pump assembly.